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Colombian president urges FARC to free remaining hostages
BOGOTA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Wednesday called on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to release the rest of its hostages following the Colombian army's rescue of 15 captives.
The Colombian government still seeks peace as the army rescued the hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military advisers, without firing a single shot, Uribe emphasized.
The government is not interested in "spilling blood", and the rebels should also take the "path to peace", he urged.
The 15 hostages were rescued in an "unprecedented" operation in the southern Colombian province of Guaviare.
The helicopter-backed military operation, codenamed "Jaque," was conceived more than one year ago with intelligence agents infiltrating into the heart of the FARC, said Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos.
The intelligence agents had managed to convince the rebel commander in charge of the hostages that they were going to take the hostages to Alfonso Cano, the guerrillas' supreme leader.
The captives, divided into three groups, were taken to a rendezvous before being flown away by two disguised helicopters piloted by Colombian military agents, said Santos.
The hostages did not realize they had been freed until the disguised militants told them they were "National Army".
The operation, without the exchange of fire or causing any casualties, "will go down in history for its audacity and effectiveness," added Santos.
Betancourt, who was captured in February 2002 during a presidential campaign, said her rescue by the Colombian army "is a signal of peace for Colombia."
The Colombian government still seeks peace as the army rescued the hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military advisers, without firing a single shot, Uribe emphasized.
The government is not interested in "spilling blood", and the rebels should also take the "path to peace", he urged.
The 15 hostages were rescued in an "unprecedented" operation in the southern Colombian province of Guaviare.
The helicopter-backed military operation, codenamed "Jaque," was conceived more than one year ago with intelligence agents infiltrating into the heart of the FARC, said Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos.
The intelligence agents had managed to convince the rebel commander in charge of the hostages that they were going to take the hostages to Alfonso Cano, the guerrillas' supreme leader.
The captives, divided into three groups, were taken to a rendezvous before being flown away by two disguised helicopters piloted by Colombian military agents, said Santos.
The hostages did not realize they had been freed until the disguised militants told them they were "National Army".
The operation, without the exchange of fire or causing any casualties, "will go down in history for its audacity and effectiveness," added Santos.
Betancourt, who was captured in February 2002 during a presidential campaign, said her rescue by the Colombian army "is a signal of peace for Colombia."
| xinhuanet |
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